Tuesday, April 2, 2013

This is the first installment of “TSA Travel Tips
Tuesday.” Every Tuesday, I plan to share tips for convenient travel and other useful
customer information on my blog. If you have your own tips to add, please feel
free to leave a comment!

Traveling with pets… TSA does not prohibit travel
with pets. However, it is very important that you contact your airline first so
they can let you know about any requirements, fees, or restrictions they might
have.

Checkpoint Screening: Your pet will need to be
screened via checkpoint screening if it’s traveling with you in the cabin of
the plane.

We do not X-ray pets. However, there have been many
occasions where passengers have assumed their pet needed to go through the
X-ray. You can imagine the surprise of the X-ray operator when they see
Fluffy’s skeleton roll across their monitor. It is not an unusual occurrence.

Your pet will need to come out of its carrier, so it is a
good idea to know how your pet will react. Many a cat has gone into a feline
frenzy after being removed from its carrier. An angry cat is never a good
thing.

Even if your travel is “off the leash,” you should strongly
consider keeping your pet on a leash. The checkpoint is a noisy environment
that can cause your pet to flee at its first opportunity. This happens with
humans occasionally as well.

Your pet can be carried through the walk through metal
detector or walked through on leash. If your pet triggers an alarm, one of our
officers will have to take a closer look.

Pets are not screened with advanced imaging technology.

Checked Baggage: If your pet is traveling in a
kennel, your airline will arrange for a TSA Officer to screen the kennel.

Officers will need to inspect your kennel/carrier for
prohibited items with you present. Sometimes this can be done visually, but
it’s good to have a leash handy in case the officer asks you to remove your pet
from the kennel/carrier.

If your pet isn’t the usual cat or dog and you would like to
give TSA a heads up, you can contact a TSA Customer Support Manager at your
departure airport using Talk to TSA.

If you’re traveling with a service animal, you can find more
information here.
You can also call the TSA Cares Help Line.

If you’re traveling with a Mog, they can be screened
as a regular passenger.